1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pleated tennis skirt with a pocket hidden within the upper portion of the pleat, and a method for manufacturing such a skirt.
2. Background of the Related Art
The classic pleated tennis skirt is a mainstay of woman's tennis. It is a comfortable, attractive and lightweight. However, none of the existing pleated tennis skirts includes a pocket, since it is very difficult to attach a pocket and still maintain a continuous flowing look that is so popular in current tennis fashion. The LeCoq Sportif "Bonnie" skirt is a classic knife pleated tennis skirt, in which the pleats completely wrap-around the circumference of the skirt. The top portion of the pleats are "tacked", i.e. sewn down at the top approximately 1/3 the height of the skirt, while the bottom portions of the pleats are pressed into a form fitting, knife edge cascade. This design results in an attractive looking tennis skirt which is forgiving, if the wearer experiences weight gain or weight loss, while attractively complementing the player's figure. None of the "Bonnie" knife edge pleated skirts nor any other tennis skirts that have a tacked down, cascading pleated knife edge design that include pockets for holding keys, tennis balls and the like.
Another type of tennis skirt is the LeCoq Sportif "Bernadette" skirt, which has inverted box pleats facing each other. In this skirt, a pocket has been placed within the upper sewn together portion of the inverted box pleats. This design, however, is not a wrap-around knife pleated skirt and does not have the cascading appearance or the forgiving nature of, for example "Bonnie" knife edge pleated tennis skirt. In addition, the placement of a pocket at the portions where the facing inverted box pleats meet, and are sewn together is not very difficult. The invented box pleats meet to form an open space beneath them, and a continuous flat surface is formed where the pleats are sewn together. The seams merely have to be opened, allowing the pocket to be placed within the opened slit. Unfortunately, the "Bernadette" skirt does not have the same cascading appearance and forgiving function as the "Bonnie" skirt.
Unlike tennis skirts, pleated dress skirts have been manufactured with pockets, however, in such dress skirts the pleats are not pressed as a knife edge and are not tacked down at the top. One such pleated dress skirt is made from silk and is sold by Saks Fifth Avenue under the name "THE WORKS". In this skirt, the pleats are loose and flowing, and the upper portion of the pleats are open. These pleats are not tacked down and continue loose up to the very upper portion at the waistband. The appearance and function of such a skirt is quite different from the tennis skirts described above. Since the pleats are not tacked down, the manner in which the pocket is attached beneath one of the pleats is not critical. The dress skirt does not require the strength and resiliency, especially at a pocket, that is necessary in sportswear, such as in tennis skirts. Accordingly, the opening for the pocket is not reinforced, and is small. Since the pleats of the dress skirt are not tacked down, it is also not as difficult to hide the pocket opening.
A pleated trouser including a pocket which is covered and normally concealed from view by the pleats is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,263,546 to Goldsmith et al. The trouser include right and left panels connected at the crotch. Each panel includes a two vertically extending first pleats formed in continuation of the front crease, and two parallel but relatively shorter second pleats spaced apart from each of the respective first pleats. The trousers have pockets provided at the front of the garment having the openings of the pockets concealed under each of the second pleats. That structure of a pleated tennis skirt is not disclosed.
A pattern for forming a pleated garment, including a plurality of folds for accommodating a zipper is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,500 to Erischer. A top portion for the zipper includes a reverse fold and a bottom, under-zipper portion includes a forward fold, at the respective edges. The pattern produces a garment with a continuous pleated pattern and one pleat which conceals the zipper from view. A pleated tennis skirt is not disclosed.
A method for manufacturing pleated skirts is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,235 to Hebras. This patent is provided as general background information disclosing a method for attaching a waistband to a pleated skirt. This patent does not disclose tacked down pleats, nor does it describe the placement of pockets within the pleats.
In summary, the related art patents and skirts only generally provide the placement of a pocket within a pleat of a garment. However, none of the related art provides a wrap-around knife edge tennis skirt having a pocket hidden by the upper sewn down portion of the pleats. In addition, none of the related art provides a step-by-step method of manufacturing a pleated garment, and specifically a pleated tennis skirt containing a pocket hidden by an upper, tacked down portion of a pleat.
Accordingly, it is goal of the present invention to provide a tennis skirt having tacked down knife edge pleats, with a pocket hidden within the upper tacked down portion of the pleat.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a step-by-step method of manufacturing a tennis skirt having tacked down knife edge pleats, with a hidden pocket in the upper tacked down portion of the pleat.